Holding Her Breath

`A stunning debut from this new Irish talent` Stellar `Whip smart observations and addictive prose` Sunday Telegraph A young woman comes of age in the shadow of her family`s tragic past When Beth Crowe starts university, she is shadowed by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. Free to create a fresh identity for herself, she finds herself among people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. She embarks on a secret relationship - and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows. Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition and grief - and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

`A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch . . . I absolutely loved it` Louise O`neill `Precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read` Roddy Doyle `A moving debut with a satisfying conclusion` Irish Independent `Brilliant, vivid - I enjoyed this book Enormously` Marian Keyes `Enthralling` Image `A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil` Sara Baume `A truly compelling read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend` BUZZ `Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page` Doireann Ni Ghriofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat `Brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving . . . This is absolutely the real thing` KEVIN POWER `Written with a wonderful clarity and insight, Holding Her Breath lingers in the imagination. Beth`s unravelling and re-ravelling is drawn with great skill and empathy. A brilliant debut` Donal Ryan